By Chloe Atkins, Vicky Nguyen, David Paredes and Merritt Enright -
NBC News
Mike was looking for company with someone close when he downloaded the dating app Tinder.
In July he ran into a Malaysian woman named Jenny and began exchanging messages;
first through the dating platform and then on the WhatsApp messaging application.
The couple talked about their lives and traveling together, but after a month or so, Jenny turned the conversation to cryptocurrencies.
“He started telling me about his uncle, who worked for JP Morgan… he was the world's bitcoin expert,” explained Mike, who asked our sister network NBC News not to reveal his last name to protect his privacy.
“I was not looking to invest in cryptocurrencies.
I was looking for someone to have fun with, you know, 'Let's go hiking, let's go to dinner,'" he detailed.
['Tinder Scammer' Shows the Risks of the Internet: Romance Scams Reach $1 Billion, According to the FBI]
They didn't know each other, but Jenny convinced him to invest $3,000 in a cryptocurrency exchange website called crypto.com.
She then encouraged him to transfer that money to another platform, according to Mike, who is retired and single.
“She would get me excited and say, 'Mike, you need to send more money.
The more you have here, the more you can earn," she recalled.
When his cryptocurrency portfolio reached $1 million in value, he was assigned an “advisor” named Devon.
But after four months, when Jenny and Devon told him to send his tax payments to the Department of Homeland Security and not to the IRS, Mike became suspicious.
He tried to transfer money from his account and couldn't.
It was then that he realized that nothing was real, neither his winnings nor his girlfriend Jenny, except his epic losses.
Mike downloaded the dating app Tinder looking for company. Courtesy photo.
"I spent about $277,000," Mike lamented.
Cryptocurrency romance scams, like the one Mike fell for, are becoming more common thanks to the rise of online dating and the use of cryptocurrencies, and the magnitude of their losses is not unusual.
Scammers use dating websites and apps to lure their victims with flirtation and the promise of romance and quick financial returns, tricking them into fraudulent cryptocurrency investments.
The search for love online ends with a broken heart and an empty bank account.
“You will see gains.
You will even be able to withdraw some money at some point.
But when you want to withdraw all your balance you realize that you have been the victim of a scam because they tell you that there is usually a penalty or a commission, and it is hundreds of thousands of dollars, ”explained Amy Nofziger, director of support for victims of fraud from the American Association of Retirees Fraud Watch Network.
The Nofziger team receives two to three complaints a day related to crypto romance scams, compared to one or two a week last year, and the losses are staggering.
"Victims who are involved in these scams are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to even millions of dollars," Nofziger said.
“If you think it will never happen to you, you are wrong.
It can and will happen, and I guarantee you someone in your inner circle is right now the victim of a scam,” he warned.
So you can protect yourself from phone scams by people posing as border agents
Jan. 21, 202201:16
In an online note, Tinder has warned users not to send money online and to be cautious if someone asks them to leave the dating service to communicate directly or prevents them from meeting in person.
[TikTok suspends new content and live streams in Russia]
In a statement sent to NBC News, WhatsApp said someone can receive a "suspicious message on any service, including email and SMS, and any time this happens, we strongly advise everyone to exercise caution before responding." or participate.
Unlike SMS and other messaging platforms, on WhatsApp people can use the tools we provide within the application to send us a report, report a contact or block it.
The Tinder logo on a cell phone screen. Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images
As many people have been swept up in the cryptocurrency craze, scammers have taken advantage, adding a new twist to the usual tricks.
While some scammers trick victims into investing in fake cryptocurrencies, others convince victims to part with the real thing.
Cryptocurrency is quickly becoming the preferred payment method for traditional scams like
phishing
, where someone sends a text, email, or makes a phone call demanding payment of anything from taxes to insurance , according to Ricky Patel, acting special agent for Homeland Security Investigations in New York.
Patel warned that scammers target “a whole range of age groups and people.
And [scammers] are constantly targeting them and assaulting them, whether it's through email or phone calls or text messages.
They try to exploit every avenue,” he explained.
[Putin blocks Facebook in Russia and punishes anyone who spreads news against the invasion with up to 15 years in prison]
In 2021, according to the Federal Trade Commission, $294 million in cryptocurrency payments to fraudsters were reported lost, compared to around $44 million in credit card payments to such criminals.
“Once you send that money, it goes to the exchanges.
And once they have it, hold it and release it, it's almost impossible to get it back, especially if you don't know who the other party is," Patel explained.
As for Mike, he doubts he will recover the hundreds of thousands he lost to bogus investments, but he said he reported his case to the AARP, the FTC, the FBI and the Office Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and wants someone to be held accountable.
“I want them to spend the rest of their lives in prison.
I don't want anyone else to get attacked," Mike warned.
